Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7200S 20x DVD±RW/RAM

DVD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 7.11.10.0 andDLA 5.20:

To test the DVD writing performance of Lite-On's new drive I used Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD+R, Verbatim 16x DVD-R, Verbatim 8x DVD+RW and Verbatim 6x DVD-RW media. To get the writing times, a 4.38GB image was burned to our test discs using Nero.

When writing to DVD+R and DVD-R media at 20x, the AD-7200S uses CAV. By looking at the screenshots above, you can see that Optiarc's new drive starts writing at about 8.3x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at the end of the disc.

The AD-7200S also features 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW writing speeds. While the drive uses CLV when writing to DVD-RW media, it uses Z-CLV to reach its maximum DVD+RW writing speed.

Optiarc's new "Super-Multi" drive performed very well in our DVD writing tests. While not as fast as the drive from Samsung when writing to DVD+R and DVD-RW discs, the AD-7200S turned in some very impressive times with DVD-R and DVD+RW media.

While Optiarc has a list of recommended media on its website, I wanted to see for myself how well the AD-7200S worked with some of the DVD+R and DVD-R discs available in my area. The media types, along with the average time it took the drive to write our 4.38GB image, are listed below.

So what about writing quality? Thanks to KProbe, we can test a disc's PI (Parity Inner) and PIF (Parity Inner Fail) rates.For these tests I used a Lite-On SHM-165H6S (firmware HS0E) and read the discs at 4x with the PI and PIF ECC sums set to 8 and 1 respectively. For comparison, I also tested the discs on a BenQ DW1640. When combined with Nero CD Speed, the DW1640 is able to report PI Errors, PI Failures, Parity Outer Failures and even jitter levels. For this test, the discs are read at 8x with both the PI and PIF ECC sums set to 8.

So what are "good" results supposed to look like? With KProbe, the PI errors should not exceed 280 and the number of PIF errors should stay below 4. When testing with CD Speed, the number of PI errors should stay below 280 as well. However, because it scans with an ECC sum of 8, a higher number of PIF errors is acceptable, as long as they do not exceed 32. Since POF errors are uncorrectable, we really don't want to see any of them at all.

I also put these discs through a "stress test" by reading them back at 16x with the DW1640. By reading these discs back at this speed, we can see if there are any readability issues caused by the number of errors or high levels of jitter.

The AD-7200S's writing quality was pretty good with most of the DVD+R media we tested. Aside from a few small spikes, the PI/PIF rates stayed well within acceptable limits.

Lastly, here are some results from our DVD-R test media. While the writing quality varied from one manufacturer to another, the results were pretty good for the most part.

To test the AD-7200S's packet writing performance I used DLA 5.20. Verbatim 8x DVD+RW, Verbatim 6x DVD-RW and Maxell 12x DVD-RAM media were used once again.

The AD-7200S performed pretty well in our packet writing tests. While not the fastest drive we've tested, it turned in some respectable times when reading and writing to DVD+RW, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM media.

Double Layer DVD Write Tests - Nero Burning Rom 7.11.10.0:

To test the double layer DVD writing performance of the AD-7200S, I used DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media from Memorex, Philips and Verbatim. I created about 8GB of random files and directories on my hard drive and then burned them to our test discs with Nero.

The AD-7200S wasn't as fast as I had expected when writing to DVD+R DL media. With Nero, it took the drive 18:48 to write 8001MB of data. If you do the math, this is a good two minutes slower than the DH-20A3H and more than four minutes slower than the drives from Samsung and LG. So what about writing quality? Take a look below.

The writing quality was pretty good with Verbatim's 2.4x and 8x DVD+R DL media. Aside from a few isolated spikes, the PI/PIF rates stayed within acceptable limits. Unfortunately, the results weren't as good with the 8x DVD+R DL media from Philips and Memorex. When scanned with the BenQ DW1640, the error and jitter rates were very high at the layer change.

The AD-7200S also features 12x DVD-R DL writing speeds. Unfortunately, media capable of these speeds isn't available yet. Once discs rated at this speed start to ship, I'll go back and rerun these tests. Until then, here are some results with media that is currently available.

The AD-7200Swasn't any faster when writing to DVD-R DL media. With its writing speed limited to 8x, the drive took 18:56 to burn 8001MB of data. So what about writing quality? Take a look below.

While the writing quality was very good with Verbatim's 4x DVD-R DL media, their 8x rated discs yielded some mixed results. The error rates stayed within acceptable limits when tested with KProbe. However, when scanned by the DW1640, the PI and jitter rates were higher than we'd like to see.

Performance Revisited:

Optiarc's new "Super-Multi" drive performed as expected throughout most of our tests.The AD-7200S had no problems holding its own when writing to DVD±R, DVD±RW and DVD-RAM media, but wasn't as fast as some of the other drives when writing to DVD±R DL discs. Reading DVD's wasn't a problem for the AD-7200S either. The drive was able to read single layer data DVD's and DVD±R media at 16x and DVD±RW media at a respectable 13x.

The AD-7200S also did relatively well in our CD read tests. While its seek times were a little higher than I would have liked, the drive was able to read pressed and CD-R media at speeds as high as 48x. When it came to writing CD's, Optiarc's new drive gave us some mixed results. The AD-7200S took longer than some of the other drives when writing to CD-R media. However, it turned in some impressive times in our rewriting tests. With all things considered, the Optiarc AD-7200S gets a solid 7 out of 10 for the performance section of this review.